


Do Jaegers dream of Ukrainian hard house?

by Comedia



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, rangers listening to music together is the best thing to ever happen to me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-05
Updated: 2013-09-05
Packaged: 2017-12-25 16:22:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/955236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comedia/pseuds/Comedia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Blasting music they'll rush through the forest, keeping pace until the finish line approaches. One time she lets him win, and he's not amused at all."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do Jaegers dream of Ukrainian hard house?

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](http://ineedanumbrella.tumblr.com/post/57165802781/from-the-pacific-rim-novelization-wails-but-why) and [this](http://neenya.tumblr.com/post/56649931546) and [this](http://fuckyeahpacificrim.tumblr.com/post/58270905690/from-the-pacific-rim-official-novelization) <3

Sasha's heard the beat before, but never in this environment. It's faint, but she'd recognize it anywhere. Only a few days ago she was lost in those sound waves, moving in a haze of heat and ecstasy and synchronization. She's found that there's nothing that will connect you to other people like hard house, and now he's sitting there, stretching in time with the music.

Aleksis never seemed like the kind of guy who'd enjoy her type of music, and hey, it could be a coincidence – people listen to songs they’d normally hate when working out. In the end she doesn’t bother him, and their gym schedules don’t match up, so weeks pass without her getting the chance to eavesdrop on him again. However, one night she ends up going to the club once her shift is over, needing the oblivion and release the beat offers.

Lumbering over the crowd he seems almost unreal, his tank top heavy with sweat and the lights making him nothing but a shadow.

She stares at him until he notices her. The outline of his lips doesn’t give away much, only a slight twitch. Apparently that’s all she deserves in terms of recognition. With a nod in his direction she downs a shot and disappears into the crowd, keeping their encounter professional.

The important part is… the music wasn’t a coincidence. The next time their schedules coincide she's quick to get his attention. Not having thought the situation through beforehand she ends up challenging him to a race; he doesn't seem like the running type, and ends up declining. It isn't until she says she'll beat him to the finish by at least fifty meters he changes his mind. In the end she beats him by a hundred.

Their schedules start lining up all the more often, and she's not sure if it's because of him changing his, or if it just… happens. Either way they end up next to each other, working the elliptical, the treadmill, the weights. She's not sure if it's because they both hate to lose, but they often work in synch, and they reach a point where it's hard to tell who's trying to catch up to who.

The first time they get the gym to themselves she asks if she can put music on. His only response is a grunt and a nod, but once her playlist starts he smiles in acknowledgement. From that moment on her weeks becomes a steady flow of work and training, everything accompanied by a steady beat.

The next time she goes clubbing he's by her side, and while she's not even sure how they ended up like this, she enjoys every second of it. They walk underneath the starlit sky, and it's not romantic at all because soon they'll be pissdrunk in the neon lights, and it's everything she wanted.

As the night goes on it gets blurry; her heart speeding with the erratic music, and the dance floor becoming one with the bedroom. They're hot and heavy, a harmonization not unlike the way they danced only moments ago. It's all about surrendering control while being in control; a paradox she's more than happy to lose herself in.

He tries to move, perhaps change position, but she holds him in place. Firm hands on his sides to stay on top, and for a moment he almost seems stunned. Then he  _giggles_ , a rumbling sound that she can feel in her gut. It's the first time she's heard him laugh.

From that moment on their schedules line up most of the time. They'll often go running, because he keeps insisting on a re-match. Blasting music they'll rush through the forest, keeping pace until the finish line approaches. One time she lets him win, and he's not amused at all.

The Jaeger program is one of the best things to happen to her – to happen to  _them_  – and she happily goes through the extensive tests. During the day Aleksis is as stoic as always, but at night he's concerned. What if they don't make the cut? What if they aren't compatible? And it's so silly, because this was made for them. They belong in a Jaeger; it's been obvious since the first time they met.

The thing about Sasha is that she's always right. They get assigned a Jaeger of their own, a Mark I beauty called Cherno Alpha, and their superiors spend the rest of the day instructing them. Rangers are encouraged to try all kinds of activities in order to strengthen their bond; some of them have been proven to be effective, but most things are still guesswork. When their boss, with a straight face, tells them to try and find music they can listen to together, Aleksis laughs, and the room goes quiet. He's known for a lot of things – laughing is not one of them.

They spend that night at the Shatterdome, blasting music and watching the teams working on their baby from afar. Cherno is massive and polished to perfection, as good as new where it towers among the other Jaegers. She wonders if it has a speaker system in the coon pod, if not she'll make sure to install one. Aleksis can probably hold the toolbox for her.

Only weeks later, they're deployed for the first time. It's far from their first drift, but she's still surprised by the intensity of it. They take the Kaiju down, and it's not easy and it's not flawless, but they survive. They work well together, and they're told that their neural handshake is exceptionally strong. Apparently. Caught in the moment it’s hard to celebrate anything. They’re too focused on each-other, on the feeling of disconnecting from something so incredible. The world is so small and fragile. Voices are nothing but white sound.

That night they curl up in their apartment with the lights out and the music loud enough to shake the foundations of their neighborhood. It's the need to be reminded of life. To lose their very being in the beat. Aleksis is burning hot next to her, and she rests her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. They fall asleep with their playlist still going, and that night is the first time the technicians report movement in the Shatterdome.

Cherno is dancing, or rather, twitching slightly. The technicians have registered minor movements in the limbs while the Jaeger has been docked for repair. There's no logical explanation for it, and the program is so new; they don't have enough data to explain what's happening. Sure, there have been similar reports from around the world, but each and every Dome seems to have theories of their own.

The talk among the rangers is different though. They've experienced the drift, and they know the lingering bond that clings after each battle. Sasha doesn't need to ask many of their colleagues to have it confirmed; the Jaegers react to their pilots' dreams. Something remains, on a neural or perhaps subconscious level. Cherno's tech team doesn't report much movement – at least not enough for it to be worrying – but it's definitely there. Something's happening, and Sasha's convinced it's triggered by the music.

As their dreams fill with bizarre imagery and the overwhelming beat of the real world, their Jaeger reacts, because it's not simply a piece of machinery anymore, it's part of them. On a fundamental level she's connected to Aleksis because they're passionate about the same things, and now Cherno shares this part of them too.

Next time they're deployed, they're in the middle of dyeing Aleksis treasure trail. He's a big fan of symmetry, and wants his blonde/dark combo to be matched downstairs as well. She's just started the bleaching process when the alarm sounds.

It's slightly awkward, him running through the apartment naked, hoping to have the time to wash his crotch before they have to leave. This is her life now, giant monsters and crotch bleaching, and she loves it.

A few things about the conn pod have been altered since their last fight, and the most important part is the surround sound; the music is already blaring when they enter to have the last of their armors put on. She turns to him before putting down her visor, and there's a twinkle in his eyes.

"Ready to rock?" His voice disappears in the endless beat, but it doesn't matter. They never lose the connection these days, not completely. There are bits and pieces of her still inside of him, and she can hear him clearly. It's a moment of stillness as they lose themselves within each-other, within something larger than life, and as they surrender to that moment of madness nothing can stop them.

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I write short things on [tumblr](http://comediakaidanovsky.tumblr.com/) as well (but mostly I just cry about fictional characters).


End file.
